tvN’s historical spy romance 100 Days of Deception, starring Kim Yoo Jung and GOT7’s Park Jin Young, continues to gain momentum, reaching a new ratings high while drawing viewers in Japan despite its storyline centered on Korea’s independence movement during Japanese colonial rule.
According to Nielsen Korea, the October 18th episode recorded a nationwide rating of 9%, peaking at 9.8%, ranking first across all channels, including terrestrial networks. The series has steadily climbed from its 5.3% premiere rating on October 10th to 7.6% for Episode 2.
Set in 1932 Gyeongseong (present-day Seoul), the drama follows Lee Ga Kyeong (Kim Yoo Jung), a skilled pickpocket recruited as an independence movement spy who infiltrates the Japanese colonial administration. There, she encounters elite interpreter Sato Hideo, also known as Kim Tae Woong (Park Jin Young), in a 100-day espionage romance.
In Episode 4, the independence group Gugukdan, led by sniper Yoo So Ran (Kim Hyun Joo), attempts to assassinate Sato Shinichi (Jin Sun Kyu) for a second time. Ga Kyeong warns that their intelligence is faulty, but the group ignores her, and the mission fails. The episode ends with her identity at risk of being exposed to Sato Hideo.
The drama has also attracted attention in Japan, where it entered Netflix’s Top 10 TV shows chart at No. 10, according to streaming rankings site FlixPatrol. It subsequently climbed to No. 5 on October 13th, just three days after its premiere.
The Japanese chart performance is particularly notable given the show’s portrayal of Korean resistance fighters under colonial rule, a subject that has drawn criticism from some online commenters.
At a September 29th press conference, director Yoo In Sik described the series as a spy romance about a pickpocket who becomes an independence movement agent and infiltrates the Japanese colonial government.
“It features gripping espionage, a deeply moving love story and the passionate stories of independence fighters who sacrificed themselves for their country’s freedom,” he said.
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